Holding Your Own in Meetings (Continuation of 101 tips)

Tip 43: To Meet or Not to Meet---Study the Question.

How many times have you accepted an invitation to a lunch meeting only to realize that you spent an hour and a half on something that could have been done in a 5-minute phone call or a 10-minute memo? The higher you go, the busier you get. And the meetings you attend must count. If you get a reputation for conducting useless meetings, the busiest and best people won’t show up.

If you’re asking to attend someone else’s typically unproductive meetings, defer with one of the following: “Is attendance mandatory?” “I’m unavailable. Is my attendance important enough to change my schedule?” “Could I send a representative?” “Would you mind if I offer my input in writing or by phone?” Others will generally surmise that you expect meeting time to be well spent.

Tip 44: Call a Meeting Only for the Right Reasons.

When you call a meeting, make it significant and be prepared. In a client situation, you may have been working on a deal for months that will either thrive or nosedive on a single meeting. The higher you go in your own organization, the more expectations others have for your abilities to conduct yourself in a meeting--either as a participant or leader. Take things seriously.

Skip the meeting if you have nothing special to discuss, if you don’t need others’ input, if you have already made up your mind about what you plan to do, or if getting others involved would only complicate your plan.

Do call a meeting if you need to present information to a lot of people quickly and you don’t want to write it, if you want input from others on your idea, if you want to gain “buy in” from the team, or if you want to motivate and energize the team about the idea.

So how about the wrong reasons? Meeting as a substitute for work. Rubber-stamping a decision. Complaining. Demonstrating power to make everybody show up. Because joy and misery love company, sorting out true motivations may require some soul-searching.

Tip 45: Set an Agenda.

Some people think that agendas lend too much structure to a meeting, that people can’t be spontaneous, or that the atmosphere will be too formal. Nonsense. That’s like saying if you plan for a vacation by packing the right clothes, arranging for transportation, and deciding on a destination that you can’t relax and be spontaneous along the way.

If you’re leading the meeting, set an agenda. Use active verbs, summarize in a sentence the issue at hand, and let the group know what you expect on each issue--“for discussion only,” “for their information only,” “to collect your data,” or “for decision.” Whether you stay right with the agenda or take a few minutes’ detour, having an agenda will give others a little peace of mind that the meeting is going somewhere.

Tip 46: Start with the Most Important Idea or Issue and Work Backward.

There’s a great temptation to begin with the routine matters--the FYI items. But the all-too-frequent problem is that when you save the most controversial and important item until the last, you run out of time. Maybe a Freudian move?

Tip 47: Own the Setting.

If you plan a clandestine affair, go for a dark bar with soft music. If you want an energized group, go for a well-lit poolside table. If you want an informal chitchat session, try somebody’s office. If you want an equal, on-target exchange, look for a conference table in neutral territory. If you want authority and a no-nonsense atmosphere, schedule the boardroom. If you want to play host-and-guest, provide coffee and snacks in a parlour. Whatever your choice and purpose, if you’re in charge, be comfortable with and “own” the surroundings.

Tip 48: Stay Out in Front if You Intend to Lead.

Nothing frustrates more meeting attendees than having a supposed leader who doesn’t lead. State your role at the beginning and what authority the group will have. Do you intend simply to facilitate a discussion? Will you let them set the process and agenda? Do you intend to tell them how you will discuss each idea and come to a decision--consensus or vote? Do you intend to have the final say or will the group have authority to make the final decision? Are you going to keep the discussion moving or abdicate that responsibility to others randomly? Are you going to be a silent observer on each idea or do you plan to put in your two cents worth? Are you strong enough to stop a feeding frenzy should the stronger people begin to attack the weaker person’s ideas? When the group starts spinning its wheels, be there with a comment such as: “Where do we go from here?” “What’s the solution?” “Which way do you want to do?” “Let’s back up and redefine the problem.”


Tip 49: Encourage Participation from Others---If You Want It.

Some meetings serve only to inform. If that’s your purpose, tell the audience what you’re going to tell them and be done with it. But if your intention is to generate ideas, get feedback, or come to a decision, you may need to take a more active role in encouraging participation.

Try these techniques: Ask for a show of hands on an issue. Toss out an open-ended question and see who takes the ball. Toss out an open-ended question and suggest that you go around the circle and let everyone give his or her views individually. Present your question or issue in writing, give all members a copy, and ask them to jot their responses quickly. Take up the responses and read them to the group for reactions. Invite nonparticipators by name: “Carl, we haven’t heard from you--what do you think?” Finally, you might assign two or three people a devil’s advocate role and ask them to toss out any objections that they can think of.

Participation takes effort, and some people are too preoccupied, uninterested, or tired to contribute without encouragement.

Tip 50: Don’t Set People Up to Refute You.

If you’ve already made a decision and intend simply to present the decision at a meeting, say so. If you still have doubt that your decision or planned course of action is the best, say so. But not like this: “I’ve decided to do X unless someone has a serious objection.” Few will have the chutzpah to speak up. If you want to get feedback whether or not you plan to change your mind, try something like this: “I’ve decided to do X. What do you think the fallout will be from our customers/employees/management?” or “I plan to proceed with Y; what positives and negatives do you think I might have to deal with?”

Tip 51: Discuss Taboo Issues Anonymously.

If you know certain issues are hot topics and politically dangerous to careers, you have to work hard at creating a safe environment. Consider doing an anonymous survey on the issues and simply “reporting the results” for discussion. Or, you can quote anonymous sources from the grapevine. Say: “Someone has expressed the fear that….How does you think we can handle that fear?” “Other people have stated that they don’t intend to…What would make people feel that way? What suggestions do you have for convincing them otherwise?”

Tip 52: Participate; Don’t Pout.

Even if you didn’t want to attend and “you’re there,” be there. Listen to what’s going on rather than fidget with your paperwork, glance at your watch, or roll your eyes. Your body language can speak volumes to those who think the meeting is important and do want your ideas.

Tip 53: Summarize Frequently.

Whether or not you see your official role as the summarizer or leader, if no one takes on that role, do so. To keep the discussion moving on target, somebody had to recap what’s been said and point out the next topic for discussion.

Tip 54: Call for a Process Check Occasionally.

At times, the group process will stall. You’ll be talking in circles, covering the same territory. You’ll hear tempers flare. You’ll feel that people are under personal attack. You’ll notice that you are deciding, undeciding, and redeciding the same issues. Be the one who calls attention to such breakdowns: “We don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Let’s see where we got off track. We had started to brainstorm the Y issue. Does somebody have a more effective suggestion for moving us along?”

Tip 55: Don’t Digress, Ramble, or Sidetrack.

Determine that you’ll not be part of the biggest meeting problem of all. Stay on target. If you can’t remember the issue, jot yourself a note as the group moves from agenda item to item and refer to it often. Not only is the agenda topic important, but also you should keep track of where you are in the process of dealing with each topic. Are you into the overview? The analysis? The idea-generation phase? Suggesting solutions? Testing agreement on the proposed solutions? Don’t be two or three steps behind everyone else.

Tip 56: Omit War Stories.

While they have an audience of admirers, some people fall to the temptation of telling war stories, sharing inside jokes, and recounting wonderful things they once did. Unless time is of no importance to the rest of the group, don’t.
Tip 57: If you Don’t Have Something to Say, Don’t Say It.

Participating doesn’t mean you should necessarily feel obligated to comment on every issue. If someone hands you the baton and you have nothing to contribute, pass it on: “I think everybody has already expressed my views.” “I don’t have an opinion one way or the other.” “I don’t know a thing about the subject and don’t want to confuse the issue.” “Thanks, I’ll pass.” People will love you.

Tip 58: Don’t Set a Pattern of Expressing the “Downside.”

Yes, you will disagree from time to time and make a valuable contribution by expressing that differing viewpoint. But don’t make it a pattern. Offer solutions and encouragement when the others get down, dumb and defeated.

Tip 59: Disagree Without Being Disagreeable.

Never let yourself become a victim of “groupthink,” a condition in which group harmony becomes more important than results. If the purpose of a meeting is to generate ideas and get input, by all means speak up when you disagree. Just don’t be disagreeable. The difference is attitude.

Tip 60: Don’t Invalidate Others’ Feelings.

Examples: “Jim, I don’t know why you’re so punchy about that.” “Jennifer, there’s no reason to get so defensive.” “It’ll be okay, Javier--really, it will.” To say or imply that people don’t have a right to their feelings makes them robots. People do not live by logic alone.

Tip 61: Use Another’s Question as Your Platform.

An excellent way to get a message across without having to hog the floors is to look at someone's question as a platform--an invitation to speak up. Have your prepared message ready and look for the opportunity to step in when someone raises the appropriate question. You’ll be accomplishing your goals on someone else’s time.

Tip 62: Be Flexible on the Issues.

We’re not talking about flip-flops like the politicians make--whatever the polls support today they “believe” tomorrow. Instead, be open to the facts and flexible in your feedback. The purpose of meetings--most staff meetings anyway--is to exchange ideas. If someone presents facts and sways your opinion, don’t hesitate to change your position. That’s not being wimpy; it’s democratic.

Tip 63: Listen to What’s Going On.

Consider listening to be more than the absence of talking. It takes careful attention. And listening increases in difficulty as the number grows from one person to a group of individuals all competing for airtime. Listen and interpret so that you’re not the one who’s always asking for a repeat of issues already discussed and clarified.

Tip 64: Remain Seated if You Want to Emphasize That You’re Tossing Out Ideas “Off the Cuff.”

Bringing up an idea while seated plays down your forethought and preparation. It conveys that the ideas are spontaneous and relevant to the issue at hand. Your position says that you’re on equal footing with the rest of the group and that you encourage give-and-take. As a result, you’ll probably get feedback, pros and cons, agreement and disagreement.

Tip 65: End With Impact: Don’t Just Fade Away.

If you’re presenting an idea, don’t limp away with a sputter. Don’t simply drop your eyes, tune out with body language, or let others grab the floor and run away with it. Bring the discussion to closure. Summarize your idea, the pros and cons mentioned, any decision made, and suggest the next follow-up step. Also take responsibility for the fate of the entire meeting. Do your part to make it successful. If the meeting is unproductive and disruptive, decide on the corrective action you’ll take next time to change the dynamics.

Tip 66: Don’t Sound Like a Broken Record.

Present your idea and support it. After a fair hearing, if the group nixes it, move on. Bring that discussion to an end and meet the next agenda item head on. Nothing irritates others more than having someone continue to bring up a pet proposal or peeve and whine, whine, whine.

Tip 67: Withhold Your Ideas Until Last if You Want to Encourage Others’ Input.

This strategy makes sense if you’re in a position of power to make the final decision. If you state your views first, your team may lapse into groupthink and let the matter pass without expressing concerns or opposing views. When that’s the case, toss out the issue, minus your opinion, and ask for others’ reactions first. The responses may be more honest.

In any case, don’t announce your decision or plan in such a way that people have to “refute” or “oppose” you to give you feedback. If you want feedback and forewarning of the difficulties, make it easy for people to speak their minds.

Being Persuasive (Continuation of 101 tips)

Tip 16: Establish Credibility.

People believe people they like, people who are similar to them, people who are trustworthy, and people who have demonstrated expertise. Work on one or all of these to build your credibility with any given group. The higher your credibility, the greater impact your message will have. Aristotle summed it up this way: "Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken readily than others; this is true generally whatever the question is, and absolutely true where exact certainty is impossible and opinions are divided."

Tip 17: Talk About Rewards and Incentives to Those People Who Think in Terms of Payoffs.

Some people wake up every morning looking for ways to make their life better: how to save time, how to save money, how to move ahead in their careers, how to be better managers, how to get their co-workers to like them, how to win the lottery, how to complete a crossword puzzle. If these people are the group you have to win over, highlight the personal and corporate benefits of acting on your ideas.

Tip 18: Talk About Facts and Statistics to Those Who Think Analytically.

These people don't buy cereal without figuring out the cost per ounce. Even if they are persuaded by emotion, they'll ask for the supporting evidence so as not to be embarrassed should anyone ask the reason for their breakfast choices. They don't believe in "soft dollars," "soft skills," or "soft data." Quantify everything.

Tip 19: Talk About the "Bandwagon" to Those Who Like to Jump On It.

Whether to save the effort of thinking for themselves or to meet their needs of belonging, these people pay a great deal of attention to what everyone else is doing. Passwords here include: "The trends show…" "Experts in the field seem to think…" "The leading-edge companies have implemented…" With these people, you need to provide testimonials of what others think of your ideas.

Tip 20: Talk About Obstacles to Be Overcome to Those Who Welcome Challenge and Change.

Some people wake up each morning ready to climb mountains. Tell them they can't do something and they start circulating petitions. Routine bores them. Tell them the system doesn't work, tell them you can't afford something, tell them it's too late or too early for a change--and that's when they'll start to work. Motivate them to act on your ideas by presenting them as obstacles to be overcome. Negative circumstances merely challenge them to climb mountains of opportunity.

Tip 21: Sell What People Want to Buy

Don’t limit your thinking to product and services here. I’m also talking about ideas, policies, concepts, and feelings. Think along two channels: what people want and what they want to avoid.

Tip 22: Use the Lesser-of-Two-Evils Approach.

If the decision you want from your listener is not particularly pleasant or desirable, consider creating fear about the other alternatives. Outline what happens if they stay with the status quo, what happens if they do X, what happens if their competitors or customers do Y. Your purpose is to get the listener to decide against the other options rather than necessarily deciding for your option.

The American public makes a similar choice every year at election time.

Tip 23: Use the Jelly Principle.

When I was sick as a child, my mother used to put cough syrup in a spoon of jelly to camouflage the taste. The same principle comes in handy with bitter messages. You may have to wrap them in more pleasing ideas or get them across in more subtle ways.

Tip 24: Let the Decision Maker Hear from the Converted.

Second-hand testimonials are not nearly as effective as the words straight from the mouth of those already converted to your way of thinking. If possible, bring these satisfied users/buyers/believers/beneficiaries to the discussion with you---in person or by letter, video, or satellite. Unscripted and in their own unique way, let them speak to the effectiveness or truth of what you say.


Tip 25: Play on the Power of Your Expertise.

We rarely question our CPA, our neurologist, our air-conditioner repair person when they tell us the causes of our difficulties and recommend solutions. Why? There's power in the perception of specialized expertise. If you establish credentials early in a certain field, people seldom question them. They'll give you the benefit of the doubt on your facts and conclusions more often than not.

Tip 26: Choose Your Timing.

The time to sell roofs is right after a tornado. The time to sell investment expertise is after the stock market takes a drastic upturn or downturn. The time to sell a quality process in your organization is after you’ve been removed from the bidder’s list because of the rising percentage of defects in your deliveries. Timing is crucial. Ask any politician.

Tip 27: Create a Favourable Atmosphere.

Meeting planners claim that registrants rate educational seminars higher when they’re held in resort locations. Job applicants prefer jobs where they are interviewed in plush surroundings. Shoppers shop longer where music plays in the background. Diners linger longer over meals served in comfortable restaurants. So it stands to reason that the principle can work for you.

Tip 28: Stand Up for People to Take You Seriously.

If your office culture is generally laid-back, with people walking in and out to see the boss without appointments, with no-agenda meetings, with “your office or mine” casualness, you may want to get attention to the seriousness or urgency of a problem by changing the atmosphere drastically. Be formal. Do the out-of-the-ordinary. Use a flipchart or overhead. Make it official. A stand-up presentation adds to your authority. Put people on notice that your idea deserves unusual attention.

Tip 29: When There’s a Parade, Take the Last Spot.

If you’re one of several people trying to persuade your audience to choose among you, ask for the last time slot. By the time the others finish with all their statistics, charts, and promises, the buyers will have grown weary and forgetful. Your presentation will be the last on their mind.

Tip 30: Limit Your Objectives.

Rome wasn’t built while they were working on Sicily. You can’t accomplish everything at once. Determine your primary objective in presenting your case, and focus your efforts on accomplishing that one goal. If your chief concern is getting your boss to hire three extra people in your department, leave discussions about rearranging the workstations and lobby until another day.

Tip 31: Recognize That People Support What They Help Create.

Rally support for your ideas in a subtle way by asking people to contribute to them. Tell them what you’re about, what your goal is; then set about asking for their thinking on the subject before you put together your formal presentation of the idea to the entire group. What figures, resources, or anecdotes can they supply for you? If this plan meets with opposition, what do they think the focus of that disagreement likely will be? If others react negatively, what would they suggest you try as second best?

The White House uses this strategy in building support for major legislation in Congress. They seek out the facts, the opposing views, and the supporting views before the vote, not during.

Tip 32: Be Careful About Opening with a Broad Question.

Wrong approach: “So tell me a little about your operations now---what’s automated and what’s not?” First of all, the other person will be reluctant to answer because he or she doesn’t know where the question will be leading. Second, much of the answer would probably be irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Even with the consultative approach, people want to know where you’re trying to lead them. If you start with a question, focus it and give the benefits or the point of knowing the answer.

Tip 33: Cite Your Sources and Ask for Those of Others.

“They” have probably become the most vocal group in our society. “They say” this and “They say” that. When you have credible sources to support your information, cite them. When the other person tosses out objections based on “they says,” ask specifically where those ideas, statistics, policies, or preventatives originated. Then, when given a credible source, ask how current the information is.


Tip 34: Vary Your Intensity.

If you intend to build to a passionate appeal, you can't start pit screaming. Consider how the singer begins with a timid croon, builds with up-and-down variations, and finally crescendos to a rousing finale. Do the same with your own delivery.

Tip 35: Increase Your Pace to Increase Comprehension--Up to a Point.

The typical listener thinks about six times faster than the average person speaks. When you want to keep others' attention, you have to increase you speaking rate. Otherwise, they take a mental recess. You don't, of course, want to speak so quickly that you don't articulate. Variety is the key. Slow down for complex technical information (if you can't skip it altogether) and speed up for the remainder of your persuasive points.

Tip 36: Package Ideas Like Products.

People are lazy thinkers if you permit them to be. Make your concept understandable by it packaging. Politicians, policies, and plays are packages like soaps and telephone services. For example, insurance rates, employee compensation, unemployment, and tax incentives can all be packaged as "health-care" issues in Washington. Think beginning, middle, and end (idea, action, and implementation) and tie them all together in one packaged concept.

Tip 37: Triple Things--Use Triads and Alliteration.

One of the first lessons in speech writing is the use of triads (groupings of three). If you can add alliteration (repetition of the sound from word to word), so much the better. Our ears love the sound of:

Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

Clearly, quickly, concisely.

Motivate, renovate, captivate.

Pray, prepare, preach.

They want jobs, they want justice, and they want respect.

Change the rhythm or omit one word or phrase in any of the above groupings and you lose the impact.

Tip 38: Use Both Rounded and Exact Numbers.

Exact numbers sound more credible: "The number of employees dissatisfied with their pay checks was 51.4 percent" sounds exact, therefore accurate. Rounded numbers, on the other hand, give the appearance of estimations. Yet "slightly over half" is easier to remember than 51.4 percent of the employees surveyed. So which to use if you want the numbers to be both credible and memorable? Use the exact number first, and then round it off with later references.

Tip 39: Never Let Facts Speak for Themselves.

Facts need interpretation. According to Mark Twain, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." If you don't believe it, tune in to the next political campaign, people can make facts and numbers mean almost anything. Interpret yours.

Tip 40: Provide Memory Aids.

Listening expert Dr. Lyman K. Steil estimates that the average-knowledge worker listens at an effective rate of 25 percent. Other research shows that after a 10-minute presentation, a typical listener forgets 50 percent of the information heard. After two days, the recall level drops to 25 percent. After a week, the recall drops to about 10 percent. Therefore, you have to help the listener remember your points.

Use metaphors to make concepts easy to recall. Give your listener a personal experience with the concept; that is the idea behind ropes-training for team building in organizations. You can use a mnemonic device for your key points (the three P's of Universal Services: Prepare, Plan, Promote.) You can provide a demonstration model to let the customer get a "feel" for extending his or her memory. Whatever method you choose, work on increasing others' recall of your idea, service, or product.


Tip 41: Don't Ever Read Your Key Points.

When reading, the all-important eye contact is missing. Rapport suffers. Reading, rather than telling your ideas destroys your credibility, sincerity, and enthusiasm. The listener always toys with these thoughts: Who generated these ideas? Doesn't she care enough to learn them? Isn't he convicted enough to give them from the heart? Why is he afraid to look in the eye? Does she doubt what she's saying? Aren't these facts important enough to remember?

Tip 42: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.

If nothing else works, try the broken-record technique. If you state your message often enough in a variety of ways, somebody eventually will listen. If you hear something often enough, it becomes part of the atmosphere--like humidity. Repetition forms the core of advertising.

Establishing A Track Record for Truth (101 Presentation tips)

Tip 1: Find Commonalities.

People like people who are like them. And people believe and trust people they like. Try to discover attitudes, likes, dislikes, family backgrounds, experiences, personality virtues or quirks, careers, goals, or values that you have in common with others; then emphasize those commonalities. People reason that if you’re like them in some ways, you’re probably like them in other ways. Therefore, they begin to transfer trust as friend to friend.

Tip 2: Show Concern and Compassion.

People tend to trust people who show concern for them. When they bleed, they want to know others bleed with them. Even companies have to show concern over self-interest in times of crisis. During the Pepsi needle syringe-tampering reports, you may recall the criticism some expressed in the company’s handling of that crisis. When the public asked about the possibility of recalls, Pepsi officials embraced logic: the cans were bottled at different plants in different parts of the country; there was no logical patterns for the alleged tampering incidents. No recalls: logical decisions. But Pepsi received criticism not for what they said, but for what they didn’t say. The absence of what some believed to be concern about public safety. The same is true on an individual level. People have to feel your concern before they hear your words.

Tip 3: Demonstrate Cooperation with Good Intentions.

To be credible, you must demonstrate that you are acting in good faith to the best of your knowledge and ability. People must believe that you want to cooperate to help them achieve their personal and career goals. People will forgive you for poor judgment, but rarely for poor intentions.

Tip 4: Be Consistent.

We communicate by actions as well as words. We communicate by what we say and what we don’t say; by which policies we enforce and which policies we don’t enforce; by what we allow work time for and what we don’t allow work time for; by what we fund and what we don’t fund; by behaviour we reward and behaviour we punish; by what we do and what we criticize others for doing; by what we ask for and what we’re willing to give in return. To be credible, our words have to match our policies, performance, and plans.

Tip 5: Demonstrate Competence.

People flock to experts, star performers, wise decision makers, and winners. People don’t intentionally invest their money in poorly performing stock; neither do they want to invest trust in people they doubt can achieve what they claim. To be led, either by words or actions, followers need to have faith in your competence to perform. They want to know you can win the game. They want to know you can finish the project successfully. They want to know you can turn the company around.

So how do leaders inspire confidence in their abilities while seeming modest and likable as people? They as leaders have to acknowledge accomplishments but avoid arrogance. Difficult, but not impossible. How? The attitude behind the talk turns the tables.

Tip 6: Be Correct.

Few people set out to be incorrect; it’s just that when they have missing information, they make assumptions or reason wrongly. Instead of informing, they misinform unintentionally. Whether or not people routinely ask for the source of your information or conclusions, be ready to provide it. If they ask for sources, rather than be offended, welcome such testing questions as credibility checkers.

Why would people want sources for relatively insignificant information? Because we test validity on all important matters by considering the source. How do we test the source of important information? By checking the credibility of all information coming from that same source. Credibility is circular. Credibility in the insignificant breeds credibility for the significant. Once you’re caught in an error, credibility creeps back ever so slowly.

Tip 7: Be Complete.

Are you telling all you know? Recognize the difference between lies, half-truths, omissions, and cover-ups. True, but incomplete, statements can lead to false conclusions; literal truths, when offered without complete explanations, can lead to literal lies. Knowing smiles accompanied by long silences can elicit wrong conclusions. Lying happens in numerous ways. Intentions stand centre stage here. Ultimately, questionable intentions cast doubt about character.


Tip 8: Be Current.

Give up outdated data, opinions, and stereotypes. With information overload, data more than two or three years old can’t support your decisions. Correct, but outdated, statistics soon become incorrect. Recollect.

Tip 9: Be Clear.

Sometimes the better we understand something the worse job we do of explaining it; our familiarity makes us careless in describing it. It’s difficult to remember when we didn’t know something that has become second nature. Ambiguity creeps in when we least expect it. Meaning depends on context, tone, timing, personal experience, and reference points.

Back in the days when copier equipment was said to “burn copies,” an Army colonel hand-carried an important document to his new assistant and asked her to burn a copy. When the paper did not resurface on his desk in a few days, he discovered that the assistant had recently transferred from a high-security division. She had had the document incinerated. Are you clear? Are you sure? The best test of clarity is the result you see.

Tip 10: Avoid Exaggeration.

Was the score 50 to zip or 30 to 10? Did you have to wait half an hour or half a minute? Did the caller slam down the phone or hesitate to talk? Did the supplier raise the prices on your raw materials 10 percent or 2 percent? Exaggeration makes great humour but destroys credibility.

Tip 11: Evaluate Criticism and Objections.

If you reject or refute criticisms and objections out of hand, without hearing them out and giving yourself time to consider them fully, you lose credibility. People identify you as a reactor rather than a reflective, credible thinker. The more thorough your consideration of contradictory information the more credible your final opinion or decision.

Tip 12: Keep Confidences.

When people know you share personal, confidential matters about others with them, they’ll fear you’ll do the same thing where they’re concerned. Keeping confidences when “nobody would know you told” speaks volumes about character. Those who observe your discretion in deciding to keep quiet about hurtful or personal information involving others bridge to other favourable conclusions about your credibility in times of stress.

Tip 13: Avoid Lying “Offstage.”

When you lie to a third person in front of a second person and that second person knows you’re lying---for whatever reason---you lose credibility with the second person. Once observers have recognized your willingness to lie to others, they will doubt your truth-telling to them in a tight spot.

Tip 14: Be Sincere and Genuine.

Sincerity is easy to fake and hard to make. That is, people who pretend to be sincere can pitch an earnest plea, look at you with pleading eyes and straight face, and promise plums that dance in your head. But genuineness comes from character and is therefore harder to make. You either are or you aren’t. What you experience is what you share. What you value is what you give. What you say is what you believe.

Tip 15: Make Your Appearance Work for You.

Picture yourself lying on the operating table in a hospital emergency room. A guy in sweats and Nikes jogs toward your bedside and says, “I’m Kelly, the brain surgeon. I’ll be ready to operate in a moment. Just let me give you this shot first.” Would you have a few second thoughts? Appearance counts. Physical appearance, dress, grooming, posture, presence, and poise either underscore credibility or damage it. Look at the part you want to play so others will believe and applaud your lines.

অফিস দূষন

অফিস দূষনে আক্রান্ত লোকের সংখ্যা দ্রুত বাড়ছে। ধারনা করা হচ্ছে যে, কাজের পরিবেশগত কারনে আক্রান্ত লোকের সংখ্যা প্রায় ৭০ লক্ষ এবং প্রতি ১০ জন অফিস কর্মীর মধ্যে ৪ জন কাজের সাথে সম্পর্কিত এলার্জিতে ভোগেন।
প্রধান সমস্যা হচ্ছে বাতাসের কোয়ালিটি ও ইলেক্ট্রোমেগনেটিক দূষন। ফটোকপি, প্রিন্টার, ফ্যাক্স মেশিন আভন্তিরিন ওজন স্তরের জন্য ক্ষতিকর এবং কম্পিউটারও এবং এই সবগুলি অপরিশোধনযোগ্য ক্ষতি করে।
কোন কোন অফিস কর্মী বিভিন্ন পণ্য এবং কার্পেট ও চেয়ার থেকে সুক্ষ ময়লা/কীট পরিস্কার করার সময় এলার্জির সৃষ্টি করেন। ময়লা অথবা তেলচটচটে বস্তু স্পর্শ করলে বা খোলা জানালায় যানবাহনের দূষিত হাওয়ার সংস্পর্শে এলে চর্ম রোগ হবার আশংঙ্কা / সম্ভাবনা থাকে।
এ সমস্ত বিল গুলো সিক লিভ এর সাথে যুক্তহয়।
রোধের উপায়- ভেন্টিলেশনের সু ব্যবস্থা, অফিস ধুলো মুক্ত ও পরিচ্ছন্ন রাখা, ফার্নিচারে কাপড়ের ব্যবহার পরিহার করা, ষ্টোর এলাকা ঢেকে রাখা।